,Hanger or Starband hemlet?

[Guest guest]

I absolutely agree with everything has said. My son was

cast at CT and although he cried through the casting it is a distant

memory. It is over so fast and babies bounce back before you leave

the building. You really need to find out which ortho has the most

experience and who is recommended the most by others. Nothing else

should play to much in your decision. You want your baby to have

the most correction in the least amount of time and this will happen

with a good ortho. Best of luck to you.

Bobbi H.

7 months tort/brachy/plagio

DOC band 5/8/06

PHX

> Hi ,

>

> I've been reading the responses to this post, and I completely

agree with everyone that the

> orthotist is the most important thing to consider when choosing a

place. However, it also

> seems to me like you have some concerns about casting vs.

scanning, and I wanted to say

> something about that.

>

> Yes, casting is messy and it can be a bit unnerving to see your

child's head covered in a

> white mass. However, it does not hurt your child and it only

lasts about ten minutes.

> Casting allows the orthotist to form an exact copy of your child's

head and form the

> helmet accordingly. From what I've read, the accuracy is about

the same for both

> methods.

>

> As far as the actual casting process, there are a series of

pictures on this site posted by

> someone showing the casting process, I'm not sure where exactly.

I can also tell you

> about our experience at Cranial Tech.

>

> The casting was a quick and efficient process. Everything was

ready when we walked in,

> and the therapist told me exactly what she was going to do and

gave me a chance to ask

> any questions. After stripping my son Devlan down to his diaper,

he had a stocking put

> over his head with a hole cut out for his mouth, which enables mom

to provide a bottle,

> pacifier, lollipop, or whatever might comfort her child

(unfortunately, Devlan prefers his

> fingers, but they couldn't be near his head for obvious reasons).

His eyes were covered,

> but he could still see (I held up a piece and could see through a

double thickness). This

> minimizes the chance of anything getting into his eyes by

accident, and is the only thing

> that goes over his face. It also helps with clean up. After

marking his eyes and ears, the

> therapist applied seven pieces of plaster impregnated bandage.

Three or four were

> applied around his face and the top of his head while he was lying

down and then we sat

> him up and the rest were applied to the back of his head, rolling

the edges so that the

> back was a separate piece from the front, which was already pretty

much dry. After the

> therapist made some registration marks to line up the back and

front pieces, they were

> removed and we were finished, except for the bath. I think the

most frustrating thing for

> him was being held in one place and not being allowed to reach up

and touch whatever

> was being put on his head.

>

> I don't know if the orthotist at Lawall would follow the same

procedure, but I imagine it

> would have to be similar. The most important thing is for you to

remain calm and

> reassure your baby through a process which is different from

anything that has happened

> before. Sing a lullaby, talk nonsense, whatever might help your

baby.

>

> I think sometimes it's easier to focus on the small issue

(casting) while wrestling with a big

> issue (baby with plagio, needing to get a band). I hope I don't

sound too preachy or

> pedantic or something, but please concentrate on which orthotist

will do the best job

> correcting your childs head rather than on a specific 10 minutes

of treatment.

>

> I hope this helps. Please let us know what you decide.

>

> Regards,

>

> ,

> Mom to Devlan, DOC Band 5/11/06

>

>

> >

> > Hi everyone! I'm new here and just starting the process of

getting a

> > helmet for my 4-1/2 month old who is moderate-to-severe plagio;

closer

> > to severe. We need to choose between two orthotists and I'm

really

> > torn between the two. Any advice or personal experieces would

really

> > be appreciated.

> >

> > 1st orthotist is LAWALL O & P:

> > - Uses the Starband

> > - Uses plaster casting method (which looks so scarey to me.)

> > - Has a specialist that only works with cranial helmets

> > - Is about a ten minute further drive from us

> >

> > 2nd orthotist is HANGER P & O:

> > - Uses the Hanger cranial helmet

> > - Uses the Insignia scanning process

> > (which seems less tramatic and, from what I've read, more

accurate?)

> > - An acquaintance/friend of ours is the orthotist who would

perform

> > all the adjustments; However she doesn't deal exclusively with

cranial

> > helmets

> > - Is a little closer to our home

> >

> > Based on years of experience and the fact that they have a

specialist,

> > the Lawall location would be my first choice. However I really

prefer

> > Hanger's scanning process for our little guy. (He's definitely

NOT a

> > laid back, easy-going baby.) Plus we'd know the orthotist and

have a

> > somewhat shorter drive.

> >

> > I think my major question is ...

> > Do you think there's a major quality difference between the

Hanger

> > helmet and the Starband?

> >

> > Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Are you happy

with the

> > outcome? Any input is appreaciated. I'm so confused.

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> >

>